YouTube Premium is facing another proposed class action lawsuit over its “ad-free” marketing, with three Canadian subscribers arguing that creator sponsorships still amount to advertisements.
Thirumugham Palaniappan, Jason Kooner, and Connor MacLeod filed the complaint in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on August 21. Google LLC, Google Canada Corporation, and YouTube LLC are named as defendants.
According to Courthouse News, the three plaintiffs subscribed to YouTube Premium between 2021 and 2025.
While Premium removes ads inserted by YouTube, it cannot automatically skip paid promotions that creators include directly in their videos. The plaintiffs argue this distinction makes little difference to subscribers who paid for an uninterrupted viewing experience.
“Although the source and delivery mechanism of the advertisements changed, the commercial interruption experienced by subscribers remained substantially the same,” the complaint states.
The plaintiffs also claim creator-embedded sponsorships have become far more common in recent years, reducing the value of YouTube Premium despite the service continuing to be marketed as ad-free.
Canadian YouTube lawsuit follows similar US complaint
The suit alleges breach of contract and violations of Canada’s Competition Act and British Columbia’s Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act. It also accuses the defendants of unjust enrichment.
The plaintiffs are seeking restitution for allegedly overpaid subscription fees. They also want an injunction stopping YouTube from advertising Premium as ad-free without clearly disclosing that creator sponsorships may still appear.
DexertoThis is the second proposed class action targeting YouTube Premium’s advertising claims in a matter of weeks. In July, California residents William Flemming and Devin Rose sued Google and YouTube over sponsored segments appearing in videos from creators including Theo Von, Kallmekris, and Markiplier.
YouTube’s Help Center warns that Premium subscribers may still encounter branding and promotions embedded by creators. However, both lawsuits argue that this exception is not made clear enough when customers sign up.
The creator sponsorship dispute is separate from platform-served ads. YouTube previously investigated reports of Premium users receiving regular ads, stating that paying subscribers should not see them.
The latest complaint also comes shortly after YouTube raised Premium prices across the US, pushing individual plans to $15.99 and family memberships to $26.99 per month.
In August, Premium got more expensive for subscribers across Europe and Asia, with some plans increasing by nearly 17%.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
